Sherman Peterson
by TimeTraveller3856847319
Summary: What would happen when Mr Peabody got arrested and imprisoned for biting Ms Grunion? How will Sherman cope with losing his father and being sent off to an orphanage?
1. The Mistake

"Mr Peabody," boomed the terrifying voice of Ms Grunion as she paced around the living of the luxurious penthouse apartment which currently housed Mr Peabody and his adoptive son Sherman.

The white dog stood there, arms crossed, obviously annoyed by the presence of such a woman in his home. He tapped his foot while waiting for the beast to continue. Sherman stood beside him, clearly getting as impatient as his father was.

"I have thoroughly checked this house and I am afraid to say that this house is not suitable for a young child like Sherman," she continued.

_Not suitable? NOT SUITABLE?! What is this nonsense?_

Mr Peabody raised an eyebrow, remembering to keep himself calm and handle the situation appropriately.

"Ms Grunion, I appreciate your concern, but Sherman and I are quite happy with these living conditions, and if he was raised up in this very house with no major mishaps from the day I received him, I see absolutely no reason why this house would be 'not suitable' for him to live in."

"Really?" she replied confidently, flipping through her papers, "Then explain this. Knives scattered all over the kitchen bench which is easily accessible by a small child. Ancient weaponry hung up on the walls? Even the..."

"He is seven, Ms Grunion, not three." she was cut off by Mr Peabody. "Sherman knows better than to wander into the kitchen and play with knives. Also he wouldn't dare to touch my priceless artifacts. Therefore, I believe that these statements mean nothing."

Sherman couldn't help but smile at his father's smart comebacks, although he did touch those weapons once. However he decided that now wasn't the time to confess.

Ms Grunion was furious. She shook her head and suddenly, Sherman found that his wrist was being squeezed tight by her large hands, and he was slowly being dragged away from Mr Peabody.

"No matter, Peabody. I make the decisions, not you," she replied with an annoyed tone in her voice.

"No!" shouted the dog, grabbing the boy's other arm, "I won the right to adopt Sherman in a court of law!"

"And look what happened to Ms Peterson!" Grunion retaliated.

She shoved the photos of Penny on her first day of school into Mr Peabody's face. He stared at the bite marks on the young girl's arm..

"Th-those were merely just acts of self-defense! You can't blame him for what he did!"

"You're right! I'm not blaming HIM, I'm blaming YOU, you stupid mutt!"

Mr Peabody looked up from the photos.

"What, may I ask, did you just call me?"

Ms Grunion smirked, finding the dog's weak point.

"Mutt. You're just a stupid old mutt. That's what!"

Mr Peabody growled and clenched his fists.

Sherman was released from the woman's grip and he backed away, watched the scene fold out right in front of him. The two adults argued, getting louder and louder. Somehow, to the boy this all seemed way too familiar. Suddenly, it hit him. This is just like what happened to him and Penny on their first day of school. He was soon reminded of the terrible outcome.

_Oh no, this can't be good. If they keep on going at this rate, soon..._

_Chomp!_

A small shriek escaped Ms Grunion's mouth as she took a few steps back. Mr Peabody did the same. His head dropped in shame and he fell to his knees.

_Peabody, what have you done?!_

Ms Grunion held up her arm. Sherman gasped at what he saw. His own father had bitten this woman.

Although she did deserve it...

A small smile appeared on Grunion's face. She took out her clipboard and began writing again.

"Domestic violence, oh yes, this gets even better!" she muttered as a small chuckle was heard. She whipped out her phone and dialed the police.

Sherman ran over to his distraught father and hugged him.

"Sherman, what have I done?"


	2. Separation

"Two years imprisonment!" came the loud voice of the judge as he slammed his dreaded gavel.

Ms Grunion looked over at a shocked and distraught Mr Peabody, and smirked.

"B-b-but your honor! I swear I had a-absolutely no intention of..." he started.

"Silence! What has happened has happened. There is no way I can help you sir. Good afternoon." said the judge as he walked down from his podium and walked out of the court room.

Mr Peabody buried his head in his arms, taking off his glasses as he let the tears run down his face. He suddenly felt a small hand on the back of his neck. He looked up. It was Sherman.

"Don't worry, Mr Peabody. I'm sure it isn't as bad as..."

"Not as bad? Are you insane?!" the dog cut him off.

Sherman, frightened by his father's sudden outburst shrunk back into his seat.

Mr Peabody immediately regretted his actions.

_Maybe I am j-just a...a d-dog..._

"I-I'm sorry, Sherman. I'm just tired, we'll head home alright?"

* * *

**_- Back in the penthouse -_**

"Sherman?"

"Yes Mr Peabody?"

"You...you do know what is going to happen to me, I mean, to us right?"

The boy thought about the question, then slowly shook his head. Mr Peabody took a deep breath.

"I've been uh...um..." the dog hesitated before finally giving in.

"I've been sent to jail. For...for biting Ms Grunion." he said quietly, avoiding eye contact with his own son.

Sherman's eyes widened in shock.

"B-but she deserved it Mr Peabody! I know she did. She..."

He was hushed when the dog placed a finger on the son's mouth.

"I know she did, but sometimes the world isn't fair."

Sherman looked away from his father. Mr Peabody could hear quiet sniffs and knew that his son was crying. He went over and hugged the young boy. This was obviously too much for him, but sometimes the truth hurts.

"Mr Peabody,"

"Yes Sherman?"

"Will I be, you know, taken away?"

The dog broke the hug and stared deep into his son's brown eyes. He couldn't gather up the courage to answer.

"Oh Sherman." he cried as he went in for another hug.

Roughly an hour later, the two found themselves riding the elevator down to the lobby. Sherman held a suitcase containing all his personal belongings, and Mr Peabody stood next to him, wiping away tears from the rims of his glasses.

"Sherman," he said.

The boy turned his head and noticed the his father produce a small black card key. It was on a keychain with a small photo of Mr Peabody and Sherman on it. He walked over and placed it in Sherman's pocket.

"If you ever need anything, here is the key to the penthouse."

"Thanks Mr Peabody."

There was a pause.

"Sherman?"

"Hm?"

"All I want you to know is, I...I love you Sherman. And no matter what challenges you face, or how far I might seem...I'm with you."

Sherman listened and smiled.

"I...I have a deep regard for you as well, d-dad..." he replied, hoping Mr Peabody wouldn't be angry at what he just called him.

A small smile appeared on the dog's face, but it quickly disappeared when the elevator made its familiar 'ding' and the metal doors slid open.

The weather was terrible, pouring with rain, but that really didn't matter at a time like this. Two policemen were waiting outside the building, and there was also a woman from the local orphanage waiting for Sherman. The entrance was also full of news reporters and journalists, all wanting to get a glimpse of the soon-to-be-jailed dog prodigy.

Mr Peabody turned and faced his son. He held out his hand.

"Well Sherman, I guess this is goodbye then..."

He was interrupted as the small boy suddenly hugged him tightly. Mr Peabody, surprised at first, closed his eyes and hugged back for a final time, feeling Sherman's warm tears stream down the fur on his back.

"Thank you Sherman, thank you for making my life wonderful." whispered Mr Peabody before breaking the hug and walking towards the policemen with his hands behind his back. Sherman watched the two officers handcuff the dog, before leading him into the small police car. The area around the apartment was suddenly surrounded in white light as the sound of camera shutters going off could be heard. The car's engine started and suddenly Sherman dropped his suitcase and ran out into the rain as the car sped off and rounded the corner. Sherman sat down on the ground and cried loudly. He didn't even care anymore that he was being filmed or people were taking pictures of him, he just wanted Mr Peabody back.

After what seemed like forever, Sherman felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see the woman from the orphanage, holding his suitcase.

"Come on Sherman, it's time to go."

Sherman followed the woman to a brown car parked down the street. She opened the trunk and placed his suitcase inside, while Sherman opened the back door and sat down inside.

The woman got into the driver's seat and sighed.

"I...I'm really sorry for your loss..." she started.

No reply.

The woman shook her head.

_Now's not the time._

She started up the engine of the old car and they slowly drove off to Sherman's new home, neither speaking a word to each other.


	3. Realization

The car screeched to a halt in front of a small brick building in one of the less wealthy areas of New York City. This was the HardRock Orphanage, and Ms Kelly was in charge of this particular establishment.

"Sherman, we're h..." said Ms Kelly softly as she turned around to face the boy. She fell silent when she saw him fast asleep, sprawled out over the back seats.

She smiled and thought about how cute he looked, but the smile quickly vanished when she was quickly reminded of what the boy had been through over the past few days.

Ms Kelly shook her head and got out the car. She opened the back door and gently picked up the sleeping child, careful not to wake him up. He suddenly hugged her, much to her surprise, and began to murmur in his sleep.

"Mmmh... Mr...Mr Peabody..."

Ms Kelly looked at him sadly as she slowly walked up the steps and unlocked the door to the orphanage.

* * *

_**- On the other side of the city -**_

Mr Peabody sat in his cell and looked around. He had already figured out over fifty ways in which he could escape the poorly securitized prison, but in the end he had decided against doing so, since it would only get him into more trouble. Gone was his bright red bow tie, and instead he was wearing a plain grey prison uniform. He was however allowed to keep his glasses, claiming that he couldn't see three feet in front of him without them. Though that was a lie, they were purely there to allow him to view the world in color, his own invention of course.

Right now however, Mr Peabody wasn't thinking about any means of escape. Instead he was thinking about a certain auburn haired boy, who used to be his son, who he had shared so many fond memories with. Mr Peabody shed a few tears as he remembered the good times he had shared together with Sherman.

_At least he is with someone who cares..._

Mr Peabody had arranged to meet Ms Kelly in the orphanage once when Sherman was at school. He had thoroughly checked the premises and questioned Ms Kelly like she was being interrogated. He had come to the conclusion that he was at least relieved that Sherman would be placed here and not in some crummy old orphanage where they didn't give a damn about the kids.

_Oh well, that's all in the past, Peabody. Stop moping and get some sleep!_

Mr Peabody climbed onto his small bunk and closed his eyes, forcing himself to fall asleep, ignoring the small wet patch of tears on his pillow.

* * *

_**- The next morning -**_

Sherman woke up at about 5am. His breathing was loud and heavy, he was drenched in sweat, and his clothes were stuck to his skin.

_At least it was just a nightmare..._

Interestingly, he hadn't changed into his pajamas the night before. Shaking away the thought, he felt for his glasses on his bedside table, only to find that it wasn't there. No, not just his glasses, the whole table wasn't there.

Very strange indeed...

He rolled around aimlessly on his bed, noticing how it felt harder than it was before. Suddenly, Sherman yelped as he fell right off the bed and onto the floor. Rubbing his head, he stood up and felt around the bed for his glasses, finally finding them folded on a window sill above the head of his bed.

Weird, he never noticed that window before...

As soon as the boy put on his round black spectacles, the room came into view. As soon as he saw the place that he was in, all of his memories of the past few days began to flood back into his head. This was definitely too much for the seven year old, as he soon collapsed to the ground and began to cry, letting the hot tears flow down his face and create a small puddle on the ground beneath him.

Ms Kelly heard this from downstairs, and she quickly rushed up to the second floor to comfort him before any of the other children were woken. She entered the room and immediately went to Sherman, hugging him and telling him that it was alright. Sherman on the other hand knew that everything wasn't alright, but he hugged the older woman back tightly anyway, desperate for any kind of affection during these hard times.


End file.
